Getting rid of burrowing wasps without explosives, accelerants, poisons, or pain.

[Smokin Joe]

Wasps...The burrowing kind. Miserable little yellow and black pests which nibble at your garden and, for the unfortunate, make life miserable.

I mentioned this on another thread, but thought I'd post it here.

We had a problem with a nest (hive) of burrowing wasps near our plum trees. My granddaughter ran afoul of these critters and got stung a few times, and we decided to do something about it.

We sat back and observed where the wasps were coming and going and followed them to the hive entrance. Not wanting to use fire or explosives, or for that matter, anything damaging to the plum trees, we grabbed a shop vac, stuck a pipe in the end of the hose, duct taped that on, and set it up so the end of the pipe was by the hole the wasps used as an entrance /exit to the hive. We hit the switch and adjusted the pipe so the end was positioned to efficiently suck up the wasps as they attempted to enter or exit the hive.
The wasps made no move to attack us, as we were several feet from the opening and not perceived as a threat. In fact, they never attacked the pipe, either, they just attempted to take wing and were sucked into the shop vac.


After a day of this fun, we plugged the pipe with a rag and set the shop vac in an outbuilding for a few weeks. The wasps ate each other in the shop vac, and the problem was solved.

I have since used the same basic method to eliminate two other infestations of wasps, one in the garden, and one in the eaves of an outbuilding--not one sting, and literally thousands of wasps gone.

Make sure the lid on the shop vac is secure (more duct tape). Don't open it up until you are sure they are dead, and you can get rid of a nasty problem with little pain or effort.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I've seen two interesting methods on youtube,

1) electric flyswatter or bug zapper placed right over the hole. wasps/yellowjackets get zapped as they enter and leave the hive. Possible fire hazard.

2) glass bowl over the hole. THey slowly die.

Both seem fun and satisfying.

[sinkspur]

I don't have any little ones around any more.  I only see these bad boys every five years or so, when the cicadas show up.  They feast on cicadas. 

Since the cicadas are only around for a month or so, once they leave, the hornets vanish too.  They never bother me, but I don't have any fruit trees or a vegetable garden.

They will only attack if you mess with their nests. Otherwise, they're pretty harmless.

Wasps and yellowjackets are also harmless if you leave them alone.  And they're part of the cycle of nature;  I like them around because they eat caterpillars on roses and other plants and will actually dig out grubworms from a yard or a garden.

So they're beneficial.

[Smokin Joe]

I don't have any little ones around any more.  I only see these bad boys every five years or so, when the cicadas show up.  They feast on cicadas. 

Since the cicadas are only around for a month or so, once they leave, the hornets vanish too.  They never bother me, but I don't have any fruit trees or a vegetable garden.

They will only attack if you mess with their nests. Otherwise, they're pretty harmless.

Wasps and yellowjackets are also harmless if you leave them alone.  And they're part of the cycle of nature;  I like them around because they eat caterpillars on roses and other plants and will actually dig out grubworms from a yard or a garden.

So they're beneficial.

If they make paper nests, I'm okay with them, simply because they are easy to avoid. These are like overgown yellow jackets and are aggressive if you are walking (or a kid playing) anywhere close. Usually the first real sign you have of the nest is someone getting stung, and with the kids (some just toddlers--great grands),  They can benefit elsewhere. They also tear into tomatoes and berries, which is a lot of what we grow.

[jedidah]

I had a nasty nest of ground wasps in my back yard a couple of summers ago.  I first found out they were there when they swarmed and stung the fellow who mows my yard.

Found an easy and highly effective fix on YouTube:

-- wait until after dark, when they all return to the nest

-- using a flashlight, pour a full bottle of dish soap down the hole

-- using a hose, fill the hole with water.  (This seemed to take forever.  They must have tunneled deep.)

-- cover the hole.  (I used an old window screen weighted down with bricks.)

I left it like that for a few days, removed the screen, and haven't seen one since.